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The fashion industry is the second biggest polluter in the world. Major brands are exploiting garment workers and harming the environment in the production of shoes and clothing. However, there has been a rise in sustainable fashion brands, making everything from sportswear to underwear who are putting people and the planet before profit.

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As food & drink prices continue to rise across the world, it is often the producers and workers who are losing out to big corporations. We shine a light on the food sovereignty movement pushing for a fairer food system that supports local business and we comment on the rise of veganism.

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Many of the issues from our homes & garden are often hidden from the consumer, from toxic chemicals in our cleaning products to pesticides in our garden. We look at the greenest way to wash, clean and cook and how to recycle your old appliances.

The mainstream banking & insurance industries continue to invest in shady investments such as fossil fuels and nuclear weapons. However, a growing number of ethical alternatives makes it easier than ever to switch to a sustainable bank account or pick an insurance company with an ethical policy.

We look at shops or online platforms that sell a range of products, and how they tend to dominate the market by implementing a profit-first business model and by having a lacklustre approach to ethical practice. We also celebrate ethical companies offering an alternative, from online retailers to sustainable fashion brands.

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The tech sector is plagued by reports of tax avoidance, corporate lobbying and the use of conflict minerals. We look at the brands proving that technology can be made ethically, from Fairphone to Green ISP.

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Are you a lover of the outdoors? Unfortunately the companies that provide your outdoor gear & transport are often harming the environment; from car companies cheating emission tests to outdoor gear companies using toxic chemicals that damage the environment. We provide practical information for consumers on how to keep your ethics while you travel.

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In August 2018 Ethical Consumer sent a questionnaire to The Book People, which included a question about the company's environmental policy. No response was received. The company's website www.thebookpeople.co.uk was searched. No policy could be found.
An environmental policy was deemed necessary to report on its environmental performance and set targets for the future. A strong policy would include two future, quantified targets, demonstrate that the company had a reasonable understanding of its main impacts, be dated within the previous two years and be independently verified.
The Book People had none of these, therefore it received Ethical Consumer's worst rating for Environmental Reporting.

Reference:

According to the Endless website www.endlessllp.com, viewed by Ethical Consumer in September 2018, the company invested in Brabant Alucast, "a leading specialist in the design, development and production of high-pressure die-cast aluminium and magnesium components for the automotive industry. The company supplies parts to practically all the major automotive brands worldwide."
Ethical Consumer considered automobiles to be a climate impact sector. Therefore Brabant Alucast lost a mark under climate change.

Reference:

In August 2018 Ethical Consumer viewed The Book People website www.thebookpeople.co.uk and found that the company sold leather-bound books, however, it was not considered to form a substantial part of its business. As a result the company lost half a mark under Ethical Consumer’s Animal Rights category.
It also lost half a mark Pollution and Toxics category for the following reason. Leather, as the hide of a dead animal, naturally decomposes. To prevent this decomposition the leather industry uses a cocktail of harmful chemicals to preserve leather, including trivalent chromium sulphate, sodium sulphide, sodium sulfhydrate, arsenic and cyanide. Tannery effluent also contains large amounts of other pollutants, such as protein, hair, salt, lime sludge and acids. These can all pollute the land, air and water supply, making it a highly polluting industry.

Reference:

In August 2018, Ethical Consumer searched The Book People website, www.thebookpeople.co.uk, for the company's timber soucing policy. None was found.
The company primarily sold books and as such Ethical Consumer would expect the company to have a policy that limited the amount of paper sold from virgin sources.
Due to a lack of policy, the company received Ethical Consumer's worst rating for timber sourcing and lost a whole mark under Habitats and Resources.